Did Rishi Sunak ‘scrap’ net zero measures – or were they not even policies?

Published

2 years ago

September 22, 2023

admin

This week, Rishi Sunak made a surprise speech announcing delays to a number of key Conservative pledges aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

But alongside a five-year delay to the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars, and various changes to promises on oil and gas boilers, the prime minister also claimed he was scrapping a number of more “heavy-handed measures” that would hit people in their pockets.

These elements have caused some controversy, with former ministers accusing him of “pretending to halt frightening proposals that simply do not exist”, and calling them “straw men” that were never even government policy.

Politics Hub: PM ‘undeterred’ by net zero backlash

However, Mr Sunak has insisted they are measures that have been “raised by very credible people about ways to meet our net zero obligations”.

So what has Mr Sunak claimed to have scrapped? And were they ever on the Tory agenda in the first place?

Compulsory carpooling

First up, the prime minister said: “The proposal for government to interfere in how many passengers you can have in your car – I’ve scrapped it.”

The government has sung the praises of carpooling – often referred to as lift sharing – before.

In 2022, the Department for Transport issued guidance to councils about the benefits of introducing schemes locally, saying increasing the number of people in each vehicle by 1% annually between 2022 and 2030 would remove 1.25 million cars from the road and result in an annual reduction in CO2 of 1.25 metric tons.

Encouraging carpooling was also among the recommendations made by the independent Climate Change Committee, set up as part of the Climate Change Act to advise the UK on tackling the issue.

Its members said two-thirds of car trips are undertaken with just the driver, and introducing carpool lanes could help improve the figures, while “societal pressure to increase car occupancy could play a role as the public becomes increasingly environmentally aware”.

But making carpooling compulsory was never government policy.

Recycling bins

The next policy Mr Sunak claimed to have scrapped was “the proposal that we should force you to have seven different bins in your home” for recycling.

Legislation passed in 2021 means local authorities have to arrange collections for paper, plastic, metal and glass, as well as food, garden and general household waste – but there never seems to have been a rule introduced for them to be taken in separate bins.

The government had been looking into ways to make recycling more consistent across the country, and reforms had been expected in March – though reports suggest they were delayed so as not to impact local elections.

That plan is still expected to come from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but after the prime minister’s speech it confirmed “it was never the case that seven bins would be needed by households”.

Meat taxes

Mr Sunak also said in his speech he had now scrapped “the proposal to make you change your diet – and harm British farmers – by taxing meat”.

The idea of a meat tax has been touted by a number of climate experts as an effective way to reduce emissions due to the amount of greenhouse gases created in the farming process.

In the Climate Change Committee’s report to parliament last year, they brought up the prospect of “diet change”, saying: “Cutting back [on meat] can contribute to healthier diets, reduce direct emissions from food production in the agriculture sector and also free up land that can be used for carbon sequestration.”

But the report also said there were “no policies in place to capitalise on [the] momentum” of people already reducing the amount of meat they eat.

The committee said “steps must be taken to encourage a shift to healthier diets with reduced consumption of meat and dairy”, pointing to measures adopted by local councils going plant-based at events they host, and a “unique” commitment by the Welsh government to “promote a dietary shift to a healthier and suitable diet, recognising the benefits for climate, health and wider sustainability”.

However, these are recommendations, and the government did not have a policy or plan to bring in meat taxes.

Flying taxes

In his final list of policies he had scrapped, Mr Sunak pointed to the proposal to “create new taxes to discourage flying or going on holiday”.

Aviation has long been a target of those wanting to cut emissions and numerous policy papers have pointed to additional taxes as a way to put people off air travel.

But it has never been looked at favourably by the Conservatives, with Mr Sunak himself cutting existing air passenger duty on domestic flights back in 2021 when he was chancellor – just days before the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

Back to the Climate Change Committee report again, and it repeatedly recommends “fiscal policy” such as “taxation, quotas or a frequent flyer levy” to “increase the price of flying to reflect the high emissions cost of air travel and incentivise low-emission alternatives, e.g. rail travel”.

It also calls for improvements to broadband to encourage people to use videoconferencing instead of taking flights to meetings, as well as “fair funding mechanisms” to make greener alternatives more affordable, and says such policies could be reviewed if new technology comes on the scene to make flying more environmentally friendly.

But while the committee hammers home its point that taxes “should send clearer signals to consumers on the high emissions cost of flying”, this has not been adopted by the government as official policy.

Politics

First Chinese CNH stablecoin debuts as global race heats up

Published

6 hours ago

September 21, 2025

admin

First Chinese CNH stablecoin debuts as global race heats up

Governments around the world are exploring and launching stablecoins to remain competitive against dollar-pegged digital fiat tokens.

Politics

Sir Ed Davey brands Elon Musk a criminal and calls for his arrest for ‘allowing online harm to children’

Published

18 hours ago

September 21, 2025

admin

Sir Ed Davey brands Elon Musk a criminal and calls for his arrest for 'allowing online harm to children'

Sir Ed Davey has branded Elon Musk a criminal and called for him to be prosecuted for “allowing online harm to children” on his social media platform X.

The Lib Dem leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the billionaire owner of X, formerly Twitter, is “inciting violence” and his social media platform is actively failing to protect children.

Sir Ed, speaking from the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, said Mr Musk could be prosecuted under the Online Safety Act, under which social media companies have a legal duty to protect children from harmful content and their directors are liable for criminal prosecution for breaching it.

Asked if he is calling Mr Musk a criminal, Sir Ed did not miss a beat as he said: “Yes.

“Not just because of the awful things he’s done in inciting violence, and, for example, he says a civil war in our country is inevitable, that our democratically elected government should be overthrown.

“They were bad enough. But on his platform, they’re examples of adverse, pushing people on self-harm, on grooming, even selling videos showing paedophile acts, of child sex abuse acts and I think he should be held to account for them, him personally and his business.

“Ofcom now has the powers under the Online Safety Act.”

He said if Mr Musk comes to the UK, he should be arrested.

Mr Musk was accused of inciting violence during a march organised by Tommy Robinson in London last week.

He told the protest via video link: “This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives. They don’t want that, they’re quiet, they just go about their business.

“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here.

“Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”

Sir Ed said it is “shocking” that Mr Musk removed some of X’s child safety teams when he took over Twitter in 2022 and accused him of just being “interested in his bank account”.

“I’m interested in the safety of our children, and it is quite wrong that his business puts on these adverts,” said the Lib Dem leader.

“It’s disgusting and I hope everybody will agree with me and the Liberal Democrats that we should take really strong action against him.”

After Mr Musk acquired Twitter, many of its child safety staff were laid off or resigned, and the platform’s trust and safety council was disbanded.

Child protection experts have accused Mr Musk of leading a “race to the bottom on safety”.

Ofcom, the UK’s independent media regulator, which has the power to prosecute directors of social media platforms under the Online Safety Act, has launched an investigation into X’s handling of child sexual abuse content.

This is not the first time Sir Ed has hit out at the world’s richest man, as he called for the US ambassador to be summoned in February “to ask why an incoming US official is suggesting the UK government should be overthrown”.

Mr Musk reacted by calling Sir Ed a “snivelling cretin”.

Sir Ed is expected to reiterate his call for Mr Musk’s arrest at his conference speech on Tuesday.

He will accuse Mr Musk of being motivated by “his own ego, power and wealth, rather than the rights and freedoms of the British people”.

The Lib Dems will also table a parliamentary motion summoning Mr Musk to the House of Commons “to be reprimanded for his actions”.

Sky News has approached X and Elon Musk for comment, but as of publication has received no response.

X maintains it has “zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material” and claims tackling those who exploit children is a “top priority”.

Politics

Sir Keir Starmer set to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

Published

18 hours ago

September 21, 2025

admin

Starmer to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

The UK will formally recognise Palestine as a state, it is understood.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement today after he said in July that the government would make the move unless Israel met certain conditions.

The prime minister had called on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to take substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“, agree to a ceasefire, commit to a long-term sustainable peace, allow the UN to restart the supply of aid, and not annex the West Bank.

The Israeli foreign ministry furiously rejected his statement, with Mr Netanyahu claiming that “Starmer rewards Hamas‘s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”.

Ilay David, brother of Hamas hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a video last month, said giving recognition was “like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.’

“This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.”

There has been no ceasefire, and the situation in Gaza has deteriorated, with a declaration of a famine in Gaza City and the expansion of Israeli military operations.

Israel has launched a major ground offensive to seize all of Gaza City and destroy Hamas in an operation which has prompted widespread condemnation, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling it “utterly reckless and appalling”.

Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel said the claim was “distorted and false”.

The UK will join 147 of the 193 members of the UN who recognise Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday.

Other nations, including France, Australia and Canada, have said they plan to take the same step at the UN gathering as part of a broad international effort to put pressure on Israel.

And the Muslim Council of Britain welcomed the prime minister’s move, but urged that recognition must also come with “tangible action”.

During a joint news conference with the prime minister at Chequers on Thursday, Donald Trump said he disagreed with recognition, and US politicians have urged the UK and other allies to reverse their stance.

Sky News understands that Israel is considering options in response to the UK’s decision, but the strength of that reaction is still under consideration.

Family members of some of the 48 hostages still in captivity, after Hamas and other militant groups stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, have written an open letter to Sir Keir, condemning the move.

“Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal,” they said.

“We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.”

Meanwhile shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel accused the prime minister of “capitulating” to his backbenchers to shore up his leadership.

“With the terrorist organisation Hamas still holding hostages in barbaric conditions and glorifying acts of terror, Starmer is sending a dangerous message, where violence and extremism are tolerated and rewarded,” she said.

The UK government is understood to be looking at further sanctions on Hamas, and has demanded the group release all hostages, agree to an immediate ceasefire, accept it will have no role in governing Gaza, and commit to disarmament.